February 2017 News

Are you feeling the AIA love yet? You should be feeling it, we are sharing it and promoting architects every chance we get. You have responded to our EVERY Building has an ARCHITECT campaign. AIA members have emailed us 4 articles that did NOT mention the architect. We mailed the above postcard with a nice note asking them to name the architect in articles. Usually they use a rendering that an architect did and never give you credit. WHY? WHY? WHY?? I don’t understand. Yes, I realize I am preaching to the choir. We will keep mailing those postcards, keep sending us the article and if possible include the architect for the project.

We continue to educate and spread the architect love thru the Alabama Center for Architecture community outreach programs too. dreamARCHITECTURE just held the teacher workshop and N2ARCHITECTURE has presented to more than 1300 students since October 2016. We could use some help sharing the ARCHITECTURE, want to help us? Email me at aiabirm@aiabham.org.

Hope to see you on Feb. 22nd for the chapter meeting. You can have my orange roll if you come to the meeting. 🙂

2017 Sponsorships Still Available! Renew TODAY!

2016 was AIA Birmingham’s best year yet – we sold out all of our meetings, hosted interesting and exciting events and grew to nearly 350 members. All chapter sponsorships expired at the end of December, so please renew today if you haven’t already! Check out the 2017 sponsorship brochure here.

THANK YOU to all our sponsors who PAID in January 2017! (A full list of sponsors is on the right sidebar of this page.)

Platinum

AMA Lighting

J.R. Prewitt & Associates

Murray Building Company

Gold

Alabama Lighting Associates

ALAGASCO

Edmonds Engineering

Hoar Construction

Schoel Engineering

Southern Clay Brick Company

Bronze

Caprine Engineering

Coral Industries

Cosentino

MJ Harris Construction

Park Lane Construction

Silver

ACME Brick

Alabama Concrete Industries Association

American Gypsum

Armstrong Floors & Ceilings

Building & Earth Sciences

Business Interiors

Consulting Construction Engineering

Continental Building Products

KONE

Mullins Building Products

Parrot Structural Services

PPG Industries

Smith Lacey Sales & Associates

South Cypress

Tandus Centiva

Thyssenkrupp Elevators

February Chapter Meeting – The Philosophy of Engineering for the Burj Khalifa – 1 HSW

Can you believe the lead structural engineer for thetallest building in the WORLD will be the speaker for our February joint meeting with the Structural Engineers Association of AL?!?! We have to thank John Sorrell with the Alabama Concrete Association for getting Lawrence Novak to Birmingham to speak. This is one HSW you cannot get in your office at a lunch n learn or on your computer. Enjoy orange rolls, networking, HSW, great view of the city and see some old friends too. See what projects our sponsor Building and EarthSciences are up to at this event too, they will be exhibiting. See you on February 22nd!

MINI DESIGN WEEK EVENT

Living Small Lecture & Exhibit OpeningThursday, March 9

Lecture at 11:30 at Iron City ($20 to attend) – 1 HSWHousing is one of the most pressing challenges our country faces as more people move into cities and adopt an urban lifestyle. LIVING SMALL endeavors to instigate a thoughtful conversation about how to house the growing urban population while retaining the character and quality of life in our cities.

Architect Garrett Reynolds, AIA, of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in Seattle, will present a lecture about the design of micro living spaces from his research in New York City, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Seoul, and Tokyo. The discussion seeks to provide a dialogue between his research and the changing housing climate in Seattle, Birmingham, and around the world.

Exhibit Opening 5:30-7:30 at the ACFA

The intent of Birmingham’s Living Small exhibition is to explore what urban living means in Birmingham as people return to the city core. The exhibit will add local projects and development typologies to the original Living Small exhibition to catalyze a dialogue about potential opportunities and best practices for Birmingham as it rediscovers its historic density.

There will be an open house during the opening reception in one of the Tiny Homes designed by Jeff Dungan in the lot behind the ACFA office.

Congratulations to Ty Cole, AIA on his induction into the Alabama Construction Hall of Fame!

January Chapter Meeting Recap: Security & Design

On Tuesday, January 17th, AIA Birmingham welcomed Patrick Gilbert, AIA of Gresham, Smith and Partners Nashville office to our monthly chapter meeting. Gilbert discussed practical ways architects should think holistically about their designs to ensure safety and protection for its users, such as designing to avoid “bully corners,” using the 3-7 rule to ensure users have a clear view 3′ off the ground to 7′ off the ground and harnessing creative lighting solutions as a crime deterrent. Thank you to Mr. Gilbert for speaking to our architects!

Tuskegee Career Focus – Feb. 13-17

Tuskegee University AIAS and BRICKS will be hosting its 6th Annual Career Focus (CF) in hopes of bettering our students’ skills when acquiring internships and jobs as well as exposing our architecture and construction science students to the professional world and views of surrounding architects, contractors, and related fields. Because the AIAS will be partnering with the Tuskegee University Construction Science Department, it is inviting all architectural firms, construction and construction-related companies, and other design and building-related firms to participate, as well as, graduate schools and architecture/construction professional organizations. This year’s AIAS and BRICKS Career Focus event takes place during the week of February 13th through February 17th, 2017.

Emerging Professionals

Get $$$ for taking ARE 5.0!

For those early adopters of ARE 5.0, NCARB is offering an incentive as they are still establishing “cut scores” for each division. For just taking an exam (except for Project Planning & Design) by February 28, 2017, test takers will receive a $100 Visa gift card. If one takes a division and fails it during that time period, they’ll also receive a seat credit for another 5.0 division. More information can be found here: http://www.ncarb.org/News-and-Events/News/ARE5-Seat-Credit.aspx

Recap: Site Visit to Waites Building

On Thursday, February 2nd, the Emerging Professionals group visited the Waites Building, a multi-use project near UAB designed by Williams Blackstock Architects. The Waites Building has 45 residential units—13 two-bedroom units, 32 one-bedroom units. Its close proximity to UAB makes it ideal for doctors and nurses on-call. It boasts a 2-story residential entry lobby that provides access at the street level and from the parking structure behind the building. The tenant spaces already leased/announced are Farm Burger, Taco Mama and Smoothie King. Yum! Click here to see more photos!

AIGA Birmingham, Design Week Birmingham, and the Department of Art and Art History at UAB present a preview screening of Graphic Means, A History of Graphic Design Production. Following the film, Production Director and producer Briar Levit will speak about the project and take questions.

It’s been 30 years since the desktop computer revolutionized graphic design. Graphic Means documents production from the 1950s through the 1990s—from linecaster to photocomposition, from paste-up to PDF. To learn more about the film, click here.

Recap: Poster Show Exhibit Opening

The Alabama Center for Architecture hosted the Second Annual Posters, Pints & Pies Exhibit opening reception on Thursday, January 19th. This year’s exhibit included more than 80 music posters from private collections. There were posters from as far away as Pompeii, Italy and Munich, Germany and a poster was brought directly off a plane from Jamaica. Special thank you to The Beveled Edge for sponsoring this event — they still have some posters for sale as part of the exhibit! Yummy pizza was provided by Dave’s Pizza and beer was provided by Cahaba Brewing Company.

The exhibit will be up in the ACFA through February 17th. Hours are M-Th 10-4 and F 10-1.

AIA National

Knowledge Community opportunities

Taliesin Colloquium 2017, February 10-12: Join the Historic Resources Committee at Taliesin West to see surprising case-studies and discuss our role as design professionals in shaping the use and reuse of existing buildings. Earn up to 11.5 LUs. Register

Career Center

Check out the AIA Career Center for all the hottest jobs and access to the Career Learning Center, which encourages an integrative career and professional development process that enhances your skill set.

Employers – post your jobs on the AIA Birmingham website! FREE for local member firms. Email Rhea or Kathryn for more details.

AZ Awards For Excellence – Enter your best project!

AZURE, the influential contemporary design and architecture magazine, announces the opening of submissions to the 2017 AZ AWARDS. The 7th annual international competition celebrates excellence in design.

Entries are juried by a panel of architects & designers at the forefront of their professions

Finalists and Winners are published in the AZ Awards Annual issue and are recognized at the AZ Awards Gala in Toronto on June 23, 2017.

Student winner receives a $5000 cash prize.

Submissions are open to architects, designers and firms of all disciplines, manufacturers and clients.